Helogen Electrical Engineer II at Helogen to lead design and development of electrical power systems for the Keystar orbital power plant project. Responsible for power generation, conditioning, distribution, and battery systems design.
Responsibilities
Helogen is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer II in Los Angeles, CA to lead the design and development of the electrical power systems for Keystar, our orbital power plant project. You'll be joining a resourceful and scrappy team that includes a Systems Engineer, Senior Systems Architect, Software Lead, and Lead Vehicle Design Engineer. We ideate and prototype rapidly, wear multiple hats, absorb new skills, and apply our past experience in creative ways. We value individual ownership within an overall framework of accountability and trust.
As a Senior Electrical Engineer II, you'll be the technical owner of the electronics that generate, condition, store, and distribute power across the Keystar spacecraft. You’ll guide electrical hardware development from the initial smallsat demonstrator through the high-voltage power management and distribution (PMAD) architecture required as the campaign scales. In this role, you’ll be hands-on with the hardware while setting the power-electronics architecture and design standards the rest of the electrical team inherits.
Own the design of the electrical power subsystem (EPS/PCDU) for the Keystar spacecraft, including power generation, conditioning, distribution, and battery systems
Establish the high-voltage power management and distribution (PMAD) architecture as the program scales; set technical parameters, evaluate tradeoffs, manage margins and risks, and develop high-voltage PCDU/PMAD and EMI filtering solutions
Design high-voltage systems for reliable operation in vacuum, accounting for electrical breakdown, corona discharge, insulation, and component derating
Develop, test, and document prototypes, engineering models, and flight hardware; create schematics, PCB layouts, and technical documentation to support fabrication and manufacturing
Build and test hardware using rapid prototyping techniques, including breadboarding, PCB assembly, bench testing, and debugging
Establish board bring-up processes and design standards as the electrical team grows
Lead design-for-manufacturing reviews and work with manufacturing teams to transition designs into production
Guide electrical hardware through Assembly, Integration, & Test (AI&T), and environmental qualification
Maintain design documentation and identify hardware for reuse or requalification as the program evolves
Qualification
Strong experience in schematic captureKnowledge of embedded systems
Required
6+ years of experience in electrical design and circuit analysis for spacecraft
Direct experience with spacecraft power systems, such as solar arrays, power control and distribution units (PCDUs), battery management systems, or high-voltage power distribution
Strong experience in schematic capture, PCB layout, and circuit design
In-depth understanding of power electronics, including DC-DC conversion, power distribution, battery management, and switching efficiency
Experience designing or qualifying high-voltage power electronics, including an understanding of corona discharge, electrical breakdown in vacuum, insulation, and component derating
Strong understanding of analog and digital electronics, component selection, and electrical compatibility
Fluency with Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles and electronics fabrication and assembly
Hands-on experience with rapid prototyping and hardware testing, including breadboarding, PCB assembly, bench testing, and debugging
Proficiency with electronic design and analysis tools such as Altium, KiCad, SPICE, or equivalent
Familiarity with space-environment design considerations, including radiation, thermal-vacuum testing, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC)
Knowledgeable about relevant engineering standards for spacecraft power systems, high-voltage design, environmental testing, and EMI/EMC
Experience taking hardware through formal design reviews and qualification under configuration control
Preferred
Knowledge of embedded systems, firmware, sensor interfaces, precision measurement, or instrumentation
Experience through AI&T and formal design reviews; experience mentoring junior engineers
